Level blade mounting



Dec. 8, 1959 Filed April 26, 1955 A. T. ERICKSON 2,915,839

LEVEL BLADE MOUNTING 3 Sheets-Sheet l Arne! T. Erickson INVENTOR.

(Many 15m Dec. 8, 1959 A. T. ERICKSON LEVEL BLADE MOUNTING s Shets-Sheet 2 Filed April 26, 1955 Arne/ T. Erickson INVENTOR.

BY MawfiML- A. T. ERICKSON LEVEL BLADE MOUNTING Dec. 8, 1959 3 Sheets-Shea t 3 Filed April 26, 1955 INVENTOB ARNEL T. ERICKSON WWW AWOKNEY United States Patent LEVEL BLADE MOUNTING Arne] T. Erickson, Hutchinson, Minn.

Application April 26, 1955, Serial No. 503,979 4 Claims. (Cl. 37-146 This invention comprises novel and useful improvements' in a level blade mounting, and more specifically relates toa' heavy duty earth moving and earth leveling apparatus specifically adapted for heavy construction work, such'as road construction, airport runways, super highways,- dams and any other construction requiring filling and extensive earth moving and leveling operations and which necessitate uniform compaction of the filling-material.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an apparatus adapted for heavy duty earth leveling and moving operationsand which shall have an improved means for raising and lowering the earth working implement ofthe apparatus.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus in conformity with the preceding object in which the control of the vertical adjustment of the earth working implement may be effected from a remote location.

Still: another object of the invention is to provide anapparatus as set forth in the preceding objects wherein the power operating means of a tractor may be advantageously: employed for controlling the vertical adjustment of the earth handling implement.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus in conformity with the foregoing objects in which a compacting roller may be employed as the supporting; structure of the apparatus and wherein the vertical adjustment of the earth working implement may be effected without interfering with the operation of the compacting roller.

These-together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accomp'auying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodi ment of apparatus in accordance with the principles of this invention, there being shown the rear portion of a conventional tractor to which the present apparatus is applied, a portion of a pivotal connection of the appara'tus being shown in horizontal section therein; "Figure 2' is a side elevational view of the arrangem'ent of Figure 1, the apparatus being shown with its earth working implement in its lowered and working position;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the apparatus with its implement in raised position;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 4 -4-of Figure 3, parts being broken away;

Figure 5 is a detail view taken in vertical transverse section-substantially upon the plane indicated by section line 5--5 of Figure 3 and showing in particular the pivotal: connection: of the front and rear frames of the ap- Patented Dec. 8, 1959 ICC paratus and the manner in which the spring is mounted thereon;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective detail view showing one of the supports for the ends of the spring; and

Figure 7 is a perspective end detail view showing the rigging of the cable upon the pulleys of the vertical ad'- justing means for the implement.

Figure 8 is a plan view of a second embodiment of my invention with only a portion of the hydraulic lines and drawbar being shown, said view illustrating hydraulic means for flexing the forward and rear sections of the tow frame relative to one another;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary vertical side elevation of Figure 8, said view illustrating the sections of the tow frame flexed to elevate the blade mounted thereon.

In the accompanying drawings, a conventional form of tractor having an operator station thereon is indicated generally by reference numeral 10, said tractor having a drawbar 12 and an operator controlled actuator 14 which is also referred to as a power operated power take off winch or drum. The tractor lfi'is a source of power for moving the tow-frame, said tow-frame including a tongue 16, and apair of link portions 20, 22 otherwise referred to as front frame 20, and a rearwardly extending frame 22. The tongue 16 which is rigidly connected to the central portion of and forming a part of the front frame 20 is detachably secured to the draw bar 21 of the aforementioned tractor by pivot pin 18. Associated with the front frame is a rearwardly extending frame 22 upon which is journaled a conventional compacting roller 24 which is employed both to compact the earth moved and leveled by the apparatus and also to support the rear. portion of the apparatus. Thus a hitch is provided at the distal end of the forward frame to be connected to a towing vehicle while the distal end of the rear frame is constructed to be mounted above a roller.

The front and rear frames 20 and 22 are longitudinally aligned, and each includes a pair of longitudinal side members 25 for the front frame and '26 for the rear frame. As shown more clearly in Figure 5, the rearward extremities of the front frame members 25 are bifurcated and receive therebetween the forward extremity of the rear frame longitudinal members 26. A pair of pivot pins 23 hingedly connect these extremities for vertical pivoting movement of the frames at their proximal or mutually adjacent ends.

Thepivotal connection of the front and rear frames, upon at least one side thereof, is provided with a saddle 30, see Figure 5, which supports at its midportion a leaf spring assembly 32. The saddle is operatively connected to the pivot pin, as for example, by being connected directly to the bifurcated extremity of one of the members 25, or one of the members 26, or to the pivot pin thereof.

Each of the side frame members 25 and 26 is provided with a laterally extending pin 34, as shown in Figure 6, which pins are adapted to receive and support the opposite extremities of the leaf spring assembly 32. The arrangement is such that the spring normally urges the pivotal connection of the front and rear frames upwardly, into the position shown in Figure 3, thereby lifting the implement carried by the frames from the soil, until such time as the frames at their hinged connection are forced downwardly to thereby lower the implement, as shown in Figure 2.

The implement above referred to may be of any type, for leveling, scarifying or otherwise working the soil, and as illustrated, consists of an earth cutting and moving blade 36, mounted upon suitable brackets 38 and depending from one of the frames adjacent the pivotal connection of the same. As shown in Figure 2, the blade is mounted upon the front end of the rear frame, although in some instances, it may be carried by the rear end of the front frame, if desired. a

In order to force the pivotal connections of the front and rear frames downwardly against the opposition of the leaf spring, a vertical adjustingm'earis is provided;

This. consists ofa pair of upstanding brackets 40 'and '42 which arerigidly connected 1e and extend upwardly from the central portions of the fronta'ndiear' framesadja cent their mutually adjacent ends. 'setsef pulleys 44 and 46 are carried by the upper ends 'of these brackets, and a cable 48 is entrained overthe se pulleys and over an idler pulley 50 whichis mounted upona swivel support 52 upon the front. frame member. Although any desired number of such pulleys may be provided, depending upon the mechanical advantage which itis desired .to apply to the vertical adjustment of the piyotalconne'c tion of the framesptwo pulleys carried byeach bracket are deemed to be generally suflicient. The aforementioned spring, upstanding brackets 40, 42; pulleys 44, 46

and the portion of 'the cable 48 interconnecting the pulleys along with the associated :parts connected' thereto and'mounted on the tow-frame for causing the link vention is substantially the same as 'theg1 5 who first embodiment thereof. 1 v

The operation of the second'embodiment is generally the same as that of the first embodiment except for different means being provided for flexing the sections of the tow-frame. As may be noted, a fluid line 61 extends from the power take-off 60 to be connected to the forward end of the cylinder 64*while the fluid line 62 extends from said power take-off to be connected to the rearward end of the'same cylinder. Thus means is provided whereby'the piston rod may ;be;moved. to an extended position (Figure 9) when fluid is forced through the line 61 into the cylinder andl'the'reby' elvate'rblade 36 and to a retracted position when fluid is forced through portions of said tow-frame to pivot about the pivotal axis are also known as an actuating linkage. The portion of the cable 48 extending forwardly of the forward frame .and being connected to the operator controlled actuator would in this event be the control element for the actuating linkage mounted in the tow frame.

As shown in the diagrammatic viewof Figure 7, the

cable has one end secured to one of the pulleys 46, is

then wound over a pulley 44, then over the other pulley 46, then over the other pulley 44, is entrained overthe guide pulley 50 and has its other end secured to the previously mentioned winch or drum 14. As will now be apparent, when the Winch is operated, the cable will' be tightened, thus drawing the brackets or arms 40 and 42 together at their upper ends, thereby vertically depressmg the pivot pins against the resistance of the spring 32 and lowering the implement 36 fromits raised position of Figure 3 to its lowered position of Figure 2. It is 'thus obvious that the power operating means of the tractor may be employed to vertically adjust the blade or other implement carried by the device, and'this adjustment is effected without interfering with the operation of the, compacting roller 24. a

It is within the scope of this invention to use various other means for operating the blade leveler. .Forex- 'ample, in place of using the cables 48 and the various;

elements associated therewith to flex thesections of the tow frame, the hydraulic actuator" means of the second embodiment of my invention (see Figures 8 and 9) may be utilized.

In providing hydraulic actuator means for operating the blade leveler, a hydraulic power take off ,60 (schematically illustrated) which includes the operator controlled actuator is provided in place of means 14 of the first embodiment. A pair of hydraulic fluid lines 61, 62 are fluidly connected to the hydraulic take 01f 60 and extended in a rearward direction to respectively be conrod, and is pivotally secured to the upper end .of'the bracket 42 by a pivot member .69. Except for the modification of the operator controlled actuator 14 and elimination of the cable 48, bracket 52, pulleys 50, 44, and 46 and the substitution therefor or the replacements thereof with the above described actuator means, the structure of thesecondembodiment of the blade leveler of my inline 62 into the rearward end of thesame cylinder and thereby lower blade 36.

It is to be understood that only a single fluid line (not shown) need be provided since with appropriate type of power take-oifconne'ctions; the leaf spring 32" will flex the forward and re'arframes in'an upwardi direction-and thus causetlie piston rods 67'to move to an extended position. Thenito lower the ,earthworking blade, fluid wouldbe forced through the aforementioned single line. to retract the piston rodand move the upstanding brackets 42, 44 toward one'anotherf Further, other implements, such as scarifiers, disks and the like maybe substituted for the blade 36, in accordance with the particularqfund tions to be performed. Y i

' The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and de scribed, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to,'falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An earth working and"compacting d'ev1ce constructed'to be'pulled by the traction vehicle having thereon an operator stationand an operator controlled actuator, said device comprising a heavy earth roller having an axis of rotation, a longitudinally extending tow frame composed of aforward frame and a rear frarne, means hingedly connecting the mutual adjacent ends of said'forward frame and said rear frame for' pivotal movement'relative one another, said hinge means having a pivot'axis that is generally transverse to thelength 'of said tow frame,

said rear 'frame connected 'to: the roller at said roller axis, said forward frame having a distal end shaped 'to form a hitch, an earth working implement mounted on .said tow framea djacent said hingemeans and in: depending relation to the tow frame, an actuating'linkage means operatively connected to the rear frame between the connection of therollerto said frameand the pivotal axis of the 'front and rear frames and also operatively I connected to the front frame between saidhitch. and the pivotal axis of the front. and rear frames for flexing said front and rear frame relati'vezto one another to selectively lower and raise; said earthworkingimplement, said actuator 1 means including a bracket which: forms, the operatlveconnection to thefront frame,a second b fapkfi t that forms the operative connectionto the rear frame,

and means .connectingsaid brackets for moving the b ckets towards one another; 1;. I I 1 2. The apparatus ofclaim' 1 further. characterized in that the means connecting said bracket ,includesa'hydraulic cylinder. and. piston mounteitqextendbetween said brackets.

3. The" apparatus of claim l further charaterized in that the actuator linkage meansjincludes a spring that is connected at one end'tof the rear frame intermediate the pivot axis and the roller axis "and "at the otherend to the forward frame intermediatelthei hitch" matte pivot 3X18. "."i'iz'fi: 1""t'1 'f ,4, An earth leveling apparatus c6mprising a pair of longitudinally aligned frames, pivot means hingedly con- References Cited in the file of this patent necting the mutually adjacent ends of said frames for UNITED STATES PATENTS vertical p1vot1ng movement, an earth working blade mounted upon one of said frames in depending relation 9751580 Stebbms 1910 and closely adjacent said pivot, a spring operatively con- 5 1,545,564 Kl'otz July 1925 nected with said pivot means and said frames for urging 1,681,855 Hulse 1928 the pivoted ends of the frames and said blade upwardly, 1,992,116 Bomman 19, 3 a pair of brackets rigidly secured to and rising from 2199023 Bmdersen et 301 1940 mutually adjacent ends of said frames, said brackets be- 2207424 Wood July 9, 1940 ing upwardly divergent, means connected to the upper 10 2274038 Carter 1942 ends of said brackets for moving the same towards each 2,303,043 f 1942 other to thereby depress the hinged ends of the frame 2502217 28, 1950 against the resistance of the spring, said spring compris- 2513129 et June 1950 ing a leaf spring assembly having its midportion con- 2585117 GPmes 12, 1952 nected to said pivot means and having its ends each con- 15 2657619 Gllreath 1953 nected to one of said frames. 

